Influences
by Homicide-Inside
Summary: Ianto had said once how Jack changed his life. What they both were unaware of was to what extent.


**Influences**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own _Torchwood_, nor any character mentioned in this story. I do not own Ianto's father, the father who broke his leg, but I had given him the name "Trahen Jones".

**Summary**: Ianto had said once how Jack changed his life. What they both were unaware of was to what extent.

**Author's Notes**: First _Torchwood_ fanfiction. It centers Jack, and features Ianto, but it doesn't focus on their relationship. It focuses on the consequences of Jack's immortality, great and small.

* * *

"Dad, I'm pregnant."

That had been what his daughter, Alice, had told him over the phone that morning, and Jack let it play in a continuous loop in his head. His daughter, who had vowed to herself never to speak to him again, had decided to break off the silence by breaking the news of her bearing a child—Jack's future grandson. His gut turned every time he thought about it, but he couldn't make out the emotion behind it. Happiness? Excitement? Guilt? Melancholy? It was all a confusing mix that he wanted so much to retch.

He wanted to say so much to her. He wanted to tell her how proud he was of her, how he'll always be there for her and her son, how he'll be willing to chip in for the hospital bills, and how he loves her unconditionally. But Jack couldn't, and so he didn't. He was scared of what she might think and what she might say, and although she had cared enough to inform him about her giant leap to motherhood, Jack knew there is a 90% chance that she would never let him see his grandson. And so he simply answered, "That's great, Alice," before hanging up.

Disheartened by his stupidity, his insensitivity and his deductions, he had left the Hub and wandered about the streets of Cardiff, looking at every single face he passed by, telling himself that these were the people he's saving from the alien threats that invade this pathetic place. He constantly questioned himself if they were worth the sacrifices and sorrow he had to endure forever. They have to be, he'd think, they have to be.

And now he's staring at the children playing at the playground, unmindful of their surroundings and utterly worry-free. He smiles sadly and remembers how he'd never played with Alice like how the parents of the kids right there were doing, and how he'd never really been there to watch her grow into a beautiful woman. That could be a possible contributing factor for Alice's forbidding him to step into his grandson's life. He knew this for a fact because he never had any experience dealing with children. How would he be able to handle him?

The children's screams and laughter overpower the voices in his head and he decides to take a seat on a bench a few feet away from the swings. A man comes up to him a few minutes later and fills in the empty space beside him. Jack eyes him questioningly as he hears the man muttering swears.

"Are you all right, sir?" Jack asks him.

"It's the bloody noise," he answers in a thick Welsh accent. "If I keep going here every single bloody day, I'd go completely mad."

Jack chuckles. "Let kids be kids."

"Easy for you to say," he grumbles. "I've got a handful."

For a moment, Jack doesn't speak because it _was_ easy for him to say. He didn't have to go through what every other dad had to, with kids yelling at the top of their lungs and just automatically annoying everyone if they weren't too busy charming them with innocent looks. Feeling uncomfortable by the thought, he stretches his hand towards the man and introduces himself. "I'm Jack Harkness."

He doesn't take it. "Trahen Jones."

Jack draws his hand back and scans the area. "So, who's yours?"

Trahen glances at him and calls out, "Ianto!"

A boy seven years of age looks up from the sandbox, and then immediately and obediently runs towards the two. Jack watches him carefully and smiles warmly at him. The child doesn't acknowledge him and finds interest on his dirty shoes. "He's the youngest." Trahen tousles Ianto's hair a bit. "That is, if _she_ doesn't blow up like a beached whale every time I turn my back."

"Hello, Ianto," Jack greets, stretching his hand. The child takes it, his small hand being enveloped by the older man's, and smiles politely. "Good afternoon, sir."

Jack nods his head, impressed, and lets go. Ianto looks at his father and says, nervously, "Dad, I've lost my pterodactyl."

Trahen shrugs his shoulders. "You've got more toys at home." Ianto frowns and his eyes start to water. "But dad…" He gives a sideways glance towards a group of boys by the slides, and Jack could see them ripping this innocent child's doll apart. At the sight of this, he looks down at Ianto and, through the expressionless face he tried so hard to pull, sees the sadness, horrification, and anger boiling inside him. Jack wants to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, but that wouldn't be so proper.

"We'll get you a new one, all right?" Trahen stands up and checks his watch. "We've been here long enough. We're leaving, Ianto." Not even bothering to hold his son's hand, he stalks off towards their parked car.

Ianto sighs and prepares to follow his father, before Jack reached out to touch his arm. Ianto spins around and looks at Jack with sad eyes. "There are a lot of bad people in this world." Jack tells him soothingly. "What my mom used to tell me is that all you need to keep in mind is to fight for love." He slides his hand down his pocket and takes out a foil-wrapped candy. "Here, have this." He places it on Ianto's palm and winks. "Their coffee-flavored, but extremely delicious." He laughs and pats the boy's head. "Now, cheer up."

Ianto stares at the genuine smile on Jack's face and he smiles back with the same unfeigned appearance. He bows curtly and says, "Thank you, sir." Jack watches him run to catch up with his father, and as he does, he lets himself slip into a stream of thoughts once again, completely forgetting the names and faces of the pair he had just met minutes ago, and unaware that he had contributed greatly to the molding of this boy's personality, and to a distressing event that would be taking place at the basement of the Hub 20 years into the future.

* * *

**Further Author's Notes**: _Trahen_ means 'as strong as iron'. Also, what I mean about the 'event that would take place in the basement of the Hub 20 years into the future', if you don't quite know or understand, is the Cyberwoman problem.

Also, in Children of Earth, Rhiannon tells Ianto that their dad didn't really break his leg on purpose, but Ianto rebuts and says that their dad "pushed him too hard. He always had." This explains the personality I had given to Trahen.

I hoped you enjoyed this. Reviews are appreciated.


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